Avs’ Nathan MacKinnon surprised to see Jonathan Drouin returned to Halifax; Colorado-raised Seth Jones coming to town

NHL draft prospects, from left, Jonathan Drouin, Seth Jones, and Nathan MacKinnon pose at a news conference in Mississauga, Ontario, on Thursday, May 30, a month before the NHL draft in New Jersey. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Michelle Siu)

Avalanche rookie Nathan MacKinnon, who, of course, was the No. 1 overall draft pick from the Halifax Mooseheads in June, was surprised to see former teammate Jonathan Drouin sent back to Halifax by the Tampa Bay Lightning, which selected him No. 3 overall.

“I thought he was ready, he’s a heckuva player,” MacKinnon told me after practice Tuesday. “Obviously they felt he needed another year. He’s definitely going to tear up junior. He’s won everything in junior. But he wants to make that next step. He has a lot of hockey ahead of him.”

Drouin amassed 41 goals in just 49 games as MacKinnon’s wing man last season and was named major-junior player of the year. Drouin is about eight months older than MacKinnon, who turned 18 on Sept. 1.

Alexander Barkov, the No. 2 overall pick, will remain with the Florida Panthers, and Denver-area-raised Seth Jones will stick with the Nashville Predators, who visit the Avs on Friday.

Jones, by the way, will have a considerable following from the Littleton Hockey Association and Colorado Thunderbirds, the two organizations he played for before returning to his native Texas as a 13-year-old.

Seth Jones served as captain of the Colorado Thunderbirds 12-under team as a second-year peewee. Kent Murphy photo.

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Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.